


Touch

by thebluesthour



Series: Yeonbin Oneshots For the Soul [43]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, BUT HE DIDN'T CHEAT SO RELAX, Conflict Resolution, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Kissing, M/M, Miscommunication, Whipped Choi Yeonjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebluesthour/pseuds/thebluesthour
Summary: When Kai tells Yeonjun that Soobin doesn't like being touched, Yeonjun backs off. However, Soobin misinterprets, and wonders what he did wrong.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Series: Yeonbin Oneshots For the Soul [43]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870156
Comments: 6
Kudos: 320





	Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for this request, I hope you like it! 
> 
> I have to go sleep now, I'm waking up in just a few hours for the MOTS: ON:E concert!!!! 
> 
> Not edited. 
> 
> Leave suggestions [ here.](https://curiouscat.me/mapsoftheseouls)

“Have you ever thought that maybe Soobin-hyung doesn’t like when you’re hanging all over him in public?” Hueningkai asked, chomping down on a carrot stick. Yeonjun lifted his head from where it was draped on Soobin’s shoulders and he narrowed his eyes, sticking out his tongue. “If he didn’t like it he would tell me stop,” he replied, before twisting his head to look at Soobin despite the awkward angle.

“Would you like me to stop?” he pouted. Soobin hummed absentmindedly as he read, taking a bite of his rice and shaking his head. Yeonjun smiled, looking back at Kai. “See?” he retorted. Kai only looked at him, before glancing at Soobin and shrugging his shoulders. “If you say so,” he said, monotonous. It rubbed Yeonjun the wrong way, and so he disentangled himself from Soobin’s back and moved to sit next to him. Soobin didn’t react much, just kept eating and reading over his biology notes. Yeonjun hesitated a bit, wondering if maybe Kai had a slight point. He deflated a bit, feeling bad, and he pulled his food closer to him.

If he had made Soobin uncomfortable, the boy didn’t show it, smiling and giving Yeonjun a kiss before he left for his next class. When it was just Yeonjun and Kai, the older bit his lip, before closing his notebook. “Do you really think I’m too touchy with Soobin?” he asked, a little afraid to hear the answer. As he posed the question he started going over his memories in his head. He _was_ the more affectionate one out of the two, but he didn’t think he was that bad, was he? He always kissed Soobin’s cheek in greeting and farewell, which he didn’t think was that scandalous. He hugged the boy whenever they were standing together talking to their friends, and he loved to tickle his earlobes.

That’s as far as he got before Kai spoke, pulling his focus. “I don’t think you mean to, but sometimes Soobin-hyung just looks a little embarrassed when you’re latched onto him,” he said honestly. Yeonjun didn’t like to hear it, but he nodded anyway and slouched over, taking all of his past actions and Kai’s words into consideration. He felt the gross feeling of guilt settle in his gut, and he wished he could go pull Soobin out of class and apologise right then and there. “Hyung,” Kai said, clearly aware of how Yeonjun was taking the news. He rested a hand on the older’s shoulder and his voice was sympathetic. “Soobin-hyung loves you, and I know he would never tell you to stop, but it might be the smart thing to do,”. He patted Yeonjun’s shoulder a few more times, before getting up and leaving.

Yeonjun stayed where he was, thinking everything over. He felt like a horrible boyfriend for not noticing how Soobin reacted to his touches, and so he vowed to both pay closer attention and back off a bit. He didn’t have to be so affectionate, even if it was just the way he expressed himself. It wasn’t worth making Soobin feel anything less than loved. He ran a hand through his hair, checking the time. He should go and wait for Soobin’s class to let out, but he hesitated. Was it too clingy for him to do that? He couldn’t remember Soobin acting weird any time before in the past. In fact, Yeonjun liked to think that it made the boy happy to see him waiting.

He resolved to still go meet his boyfriend, but he wouldn’t kiss his cheek and he would only hold his hand if Soobin initiated it first. If Yeonjun was going to learn better what Soobin liked and disliked, he was going to have to give the boy opportunities to express himself. He gathered up his stuff, hiked his backpack over his shoulders, and started the walk to the science building.

He lingered in the same spot he always did, but instead of eagerly waiting to greet Soobin, he shuffled awkwardly on his feet. At least three times he almost just left and was gonna send a text to tell Soobin something came up. But he didn’t do that, and the class ended, and everyone flooded out. It was a Thursday, so most students were in good spirits because the weekend was close, and Soobin was laughing with his friend as he exited. Yeonjun’s mood lifted a bit as he saw Soobin look around for a second, before smiling happily as his gaze landed on the older.

He said a quick goodbye to his friend, who gave Yeonjun a polite smile, which Yeonjun returned. Soobin came up to him, and Yeonjun smiled brightly, but he didn’t lean in and kiss Soobin’s cheek like he usually did. “Ready?” he asked instead, holding onto his backpack straps. Soobin blinked a few times, smile faltering just a bit, before he recovered and nodded. “Yeah! Do you want to get ice cream, maybe?” he asked tentatively, looking at Yeonjun as they started to walk. Yeonjun grinned, agreeing quickly. He loved ice cream dates with Soobin. He frowned a bit as he realised he probably shouldn’t tease Soobin like he used to. This really was going to be a big adjustment for Yeonjun. But it was worth it if it made Soobin more comfortable.

They walked together, and Soobin didn’t make any attempt to hold Yeonjun’s hand, so maybe Kai was right. Maybe Soobin actually didn’t like skinship as much as Yeonjun thought. It made the boy a little sad, but he would get over it. It’s not like they couldn’t be affectionate when they were in private, just in public.

They made it to the ice cream shop, and Yeonjun held the door open for Soobin. They walked in, ordered their usual, and went to sit at their usual booth. Yeonjun let his backpack fall off his shoulders as he slid into his side, and Soobin did the same opposite him. Yeonjun lifted his ice cream cone, taking a few licks before he looked at Soobin. “How was class?” he asked. Soobin swallowed his bite and smiled excitedly. “Really cool! We looked at stem cells from sheep, and I felt like an actual biologist,” he explained. Yeonjun couldn’t keep the love off of his face as he smiled so wide his eyes turned to slits. He loved hearing Soobin talk about biology and science and all of the stuff that just confused Yeonjun.

They talk about their days as they finish their ice cream, and at some point Yeonjun got the urge to reach across the table and poke Soobin’s dimples, but he stopped himself. Soobin didn’t look like he even noticed the lack of teasing though, so Yeonjun let it go. When they finished, they got up and Yeonjun walked Soobin to his dorm. He gave Soobin another opportunity to hold his hand, but an attempt was never made, so Yeonjun accepted that Soobin didn’t like holding hands in public.

When they got to his building, Yeonjun usually gave the taller a hug and a kiss on the lips, but he definitely was not going to do that this time. However, Soobin was looking at him a bit expectantly, and Yeonjun didn’t want to just leave him with nothing, so he moved closer. He pressed his lips against Soobin’s cheek quickly, pulling away and stepping back almost immediately. He smiled, and Soobin blinked a few times, before smiling back. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked. Yeonjun nodded, hiking his backpack up. “Yep! Sweet dreams!” he said, pulling a face at his own weird comment. He never said stuff like _that_. Before he could see Soobin’s no-doubt confused face he spun around, walking swiftly away. He was a mess.

The next morning, his resolve hadn’t changed, and so he pushed down his urges to wrap Soobin up in his arms as soon as he saw him. He was not that needy, nope. He layered a cardigan over his shirt since it was a little chilly, and then hopped into his car to drive to campus. His apartment was only five minutes away, but he liked having his car close by in case he decided to go somewhere after his classes ended. He parked in his assigned spot, and got out, yawning as he walked towards the courtyard where Soobin always met him.

His other friends, Beomgyu and Taehyun, were there too. Taehyun appeared to be helping Beomgyu with the last few questions on his homework, and Yeonjun made himself known as he approached. “Good morning, hyung,” Taehyun smiled. Yeonjun bowed a bit in greeting, sitting down on the concrete and making sure his coffee didn’t spill. “Did you finish your marketing assignment?” Beomgyu asked, folding his homework up and returning it to his backpack. Yeonjun laughed a bit, shaking his head as he let his coffee cool. “I’ll finish it this weekend,” he replied.

At that moment, Kai came bounding up, falling to sit next to Beomgyu, breathing fast. “I thought I was gonna be late!” he cried out, staring widely at all of them. Yeonjun snorted a bit, and Kai glared at him. “You’re almost always late, Hyuka,” Taehyun remarked. Kai sighed, falling onto his back. “I know,” he pouted. Yeonjun chuckled a bit, before looking around to see if he could see Soobin. He was pretty hard to miss with how tall he was (and pretty, but Yeonjun was biased), but he didn’t see him. Kai must’ve seen Yeonjun looking, because he spoke up a few seconds later. “Soobin-hyung had to go talk to his professor, so he isn’t gonna show up,” he informed.

Yeonjun looked over at him, furrowing his brow. Why didn’t Soobin tell him that? “Oh, okay, I’ll get going then,” he said as he stood up. He said goodbye to his dongsaengs before heading off, and he tried to brush off the nagging worry lingering in his head at Kai’s comment. It wasn’t like Soobin to not tell Yeonjun something.

But he couldn’t dwell on it during his classes, so he shoved the thoughts aside for later, and did his best to focus on the material he was supposed to be learning.

It was Friday, and Soobin always came over on Fridays to finish his homework for the week and to watch a movie with Yeonjun. It was a tradition stretching back to before they started dating, and so Yeonjun assumed Soobin would be there like he always was. He ordered the takeout, selected a movie since it was his turn to, and grabbed his phone to let Soobin know to let himself in when he arrived. He had a key, and Yeonjun knew he liked using it, so he left his door locked.

However, after an hour had passed and Soobin hadn’t replied or showed up, Yeonjun started getting worried. Had something happened? Did he accidentally make Soobin mad at him? He thought he was being better, taking Kai’s advice and backing off a little so as not to overwhelm the younger. But had Yeonjun gone too far? Had he backed off too much? Being honest, he didn’t really know how to navigate a situation like this, he had never been so conscious of his own quirks and habits before and it was kind of stressing him out.

He needed to just have a conversation about it with Soobin. He was the other half of the equation after all, and Yeonjun just needed to know where his head was at. He put the takeout in the fridge, grabbed his keys and phone, and went down to his car. He drove quickly to Soobin’s building and parked, getting out and swiping his student card to be let into the lobby. However, before he could sign in as a visitor and go up to Soobin’s floor, his phone rang. He fumbled for a second, hoping it was Soobin himself, but getting even more confused when he saw it was Kai.

“Hello?” he answered, a little nervous. He stepped away from the receptionist, lowering his voice as Kai talked in his ear. “Hyung, I think I may have misinterpreted Soobin’s feelings about you being all touchy with him,” he said, rushed and almost in a panic. Yeonjun tensed, feeling both a flood of relief that Kai was wrong about Soobin hating the skinship, but then also feeling a torrent of fear as he realised how his recent behaviour must have made his boyfriend feel. And with the fear, came some anger too. “What the fuck, Hyuka? I backed off like you said! He probably thinks he did something wrong!” he hissed, turning towards the wall. “I know, hyung, and I’m sorry! He’s upset right now, he called me crying, and you have to go over there right now and tell him that I was just stupid!” he shrieked. Yeonjun groaned, pinching his nose as he shook his hair out. Soobin was upset, and it was all his fault. Okay, it was really Kai’s fault, but Yeonjun took the responsibility. In trying to read Soobin better, he failed at reading him entirely.

“I’m already at his building because he didn’t show up for movie night, so I’m just gonna go up and fix all of this,” he sighed, stretching his eyes a bit as he blinked. Kai rattled off another series of apologies that Yeonjun didn’t hear, before the call disconnected and Yeonjun went to go sign in.

After taking the elevator up, he walked down the hallway until he made it to Soobin’s room. He took a deep breath, unsure of what exactly he was about to see, and knocked. There was some movement on the other side of the door, before the latch clicked and the door swung open. Soobin stood in the frame, wearing his favourite pair of sweats and almost drowning in his hoodie. His eyes widened as he saw Yeonjun, and Yeonjun’s heart broke when he saw the remnants of tear tracks on his boyfriend’s cheeks. His nose was also still a bit red and puffy, and Yeonjun hated himself.

He didn’t know what to say, but Soobin let him in anyway, turning and going back to his bed. A box of tissues sat next to him, nearly depleted. Yeonjun’s face fell even more as he closed the door behind him. “Sweetheart…,” he whispered. Soobin sniffled in response, picking at his blankets. Yeonjun hesitated, before going and sitting on the end of the bed. “Do you remember when Kai said you didn’t like when I hung all over you?” he asked, testing the waters slowly. Soobin lifted his head, looking confused. “No? When did he say that?” he replied. Yeonjun swallowed, remembering that Soobin _was_ really absorbed in his biology notes at the time.

Yeonjun moved a bit closer. “It was mostly after you left,” he decided to say. “He told me that you always…looked uncomfortable when I was…physically affectionate towards you in public,” he explained. Soobin’s face scrunched up as he instantly shook his head, fresh tears in his eyes. “I’m n-not,” he replied, voice shaky. Yeonjun hated seeing Soobin so sad, so he moved even closer, nodding his head. “Okay, okay, I believe you, I’m so sorry,” he rushed, placing a hand on Soobin’s knee. The younger cried quietly, shoulders shaking as he quickly wiped his eyes.

Yeonjun’s heart twisted like a vice and his blood ran cold as he saw just how distressed Soobin was. He had never seen him like this before. “Is that why y-you were so distant yesterday?” he asked, voice miserable. Yeonjun couldn’t stand it, and so he moved to sit next to Soobin, pulling him into his arms. “It was, that was it, I promise, I’m so sorry, I should’ve just talked to you,” he said in a hushed tone, pressing his cheek to the top of Soobin’s head as he cradled him. The boy didn’t resist, thankfully, and turned into Yeonjun’s hold, still crying softly. “I thought you were m-mad at me and then Yuri-ah a-asked if-if…,” the boy trailed off then, dissolving into broken cries.

Yeonjun tightened his grip around his boyfriend, leaning them back a little so Soobin could rest his head on Yeonjun’s chest. Their legs tangled, and Yeonjun brushed his fingers through Soobin’s hair. “What did she say, baby?” he asked, even though he had some sort of idea. Soobin sniffled again, his hand loosely pulling at Yeonjun’s shirt. “She said that m-maybe you were acting w-weird because…,” he inhaled then, fisting Yeonjun’s shirt. “Because you were cheating on m-me,”. He finished with a fresh set of tears, as if just the thought was too much for him.

It was, frankly, too much for Yeonjun too. At the words, he instantly sat up and pulled Soobin into a crushing hug. “No, Soobin, no, never,” he said, breathing picking up as he hurried to reassure Soobin that he would absolutely never cheat on him. He knew how lucky he was, and he would never take that for granted. He cradled Soobin’s head, shushing him sweetly. “I was afraid that you didn’t like how touchy I am, so I…backed off a bit,” he confessed, feeling so stupid.

Soobin lifted his head, glaring at Yeonjun as he wrapped his arms around the older’s shoulders. “You’re s-so stupid,” he hiccupped. Yeonjun let out a sound, a cry mixed with a laugh, and hugged Soobin tighter. “I am,” he replied, relieved tears running down his cheeks. Soobin wiped his eyes on Yeonjun’s shoulder, before finally relaxing against him. Yeonjun rubbed his back, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. After both of them have calmed down, Yeonjun carefully leaned Soobin back, wiping his cheeks. The younger blushed a bit, but leaned into the touch.

“So…you like me hanging all over you?” he asked, still a little scared. Soobin blinked at him, before straightening. “Honestly, you could stand to do it more,” he admitted. Yeonjun blushed, before nodding, smiling a little. “Done,” he promised. Soobin smiled a bit too, before moving back into Yeonjun’s arms.

The two cuddled for a bit, not speaking, just holding each other close. After about half an hour, though, Soobin sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry I missed movie night,” he whispered. Yeonjun shook his head, brushing Soobin’s bangs out of his eyes. “Don’t apologise,” he said. Soobin took a deep breath, before getting up and going to his dresser. Yeonjun watched him for a second, perking up a bit. “What’re you doing?” he inquired.

Soobin looked over his shoulder, smiling a little. “Getting my overnight bag ready so we can go resume movie night,” he supplied. Yeonjun broke into a grin, jumping up and helping Soobin gather his things like he always did. They were giggling as they went down to Yeonjun’s car, and Yeonjun was just glad that they were okay.

They spent the night cuddling and kissing and touching and loving each other, and Yeonjun made sure that Soobin knew just how special he was.

And the next Monday, when they all met up in the morning, Yeonjun made a point to drape himself across Soobin’s back and leave multiple kisses on his cheek. Kai looked mortified, but both Soobin and Yeonjun forgave him, and Kai promised not to question any part of their relationship ever again.

Soobin was more receptive too, reassuring Yeonjun that he liked the touches by leaning into them and even initiating some himself. It wasn’t fun getting to this point of open communication, but Yeonjun was glad they made it. He loved Soobin, and he loved getting to grow together with him.


End file.
